Roman Abramovich, a man who was not seen at the stadium for three years, stood by the bar in the small Stamford Bridge hospitality suite.
The Chelsea owner was in London to host the Israeli president last November. The Russian billionaire was not surrounded by security personnel and there was very little fuss. Eugene Tenenbaum, a close associate, was the Chelsea director.
After having a short conversation with guests, President Isaac Herzog took photos in front of the pitch and the party moved on to an afternoon tea for approximately 50 people. This included cucumber sandwiches and scones.
Abramovich was praised with speeches, praising his efforts through Chelsea to fight antisemitism. It was a gradual reintroduction by Abramovich to a higher-profile position around Chelsea, as he continued his social activism.
After he withdrew his 2018 renewal application, there was a possibility that a British visa could be regained.
Everything changed quickly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2014.
Abramovich was in Abu Dhabi on February 9 to lift the FIFA Club World Cup. Three months later, Abramovich has been replaced as Chelsea owner by an American investor Todd Boehly.
It would be the 21st and final men’s team trophy. In 19 years of running the team, his wealth transformed from being glamorous, but only occasionally competing to win the largest trophies into one the most successful in European football.
Abramovich tried desperately to hold onto Chelsea, despite Russia’s unprovoked aggression towards its neighbor. He was supported not only by loyal fans, but also by club greats like John Terry, who called him “the best”.
Abramovich was charged in the House of Commons with having links to corruption and paying for Russian political influence. This happened within hours of the start of the war. According to a lawmaker, the British government demanded that Abramovich be sanctioned. They had previously thwarted his attempts to regain the visa in recent decades.
Abramovich, sensing the urgency to act, offered to make cosmetic changes to the club’s ownership on February 26 and made a pledge to give “stewardship” and care of the club to its charitable foundation trustees.
The plan was not approved by them, however, and the vague proposal didn’t quell the anger at the idea that a man linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin might still own a prominent status symbol in London.
Abramovich made another public attempt to protect his reputation from Putin’s war on February 28th when his PR promoted an apparent move to broker peace. Abramovich didn’t condemn the war and has not yet done so, despite having spoken about the need for public condemnation of atrocities just two days prior to the invasion. These rare remarks were made in a statement that launched a new partnership supporting the Jerusalem-based Holocaust museum.
Abramovich stated that Yad Vashem’s efforts in preserving the memory and suffering of Holocaust victims was “essential to ensure that future generations don’t forget what antisemitism/racism and hatred can do if we don’t speak up.”
